With Jacobs' namesake Davey also hitting a half century, they posted a seemingly competitive 254, though their score could have been higher but for Riaan Jeggels' somnolent run-every-other-ball 30.

And if there was any cause for concern for England it would be that opening bowlers James Anderson and Tim Bresnan failed to take a wicket from their combined 19 overs, which went for 90 in total.

With Sajid Mahmood and Adil Rashid also expensive, it was left to Swann to restrict Warriors and he bowled quite beautifully in the middle overs.

The Nottinghamshire bowler accounted for Jeggels caught and bowled and then combined with Matt Prior to have Colin Ingram and Craig Thyssen stumped.

Arno Jacobs finished undefeated, but England set about the chase in fine style.

Denly, in need of a score having hit a 17-ball three against Eagles, showed far more attacking intent as he hit seven fours and two sixes in an 85-ball innings before holing out to long on off Darryl Brown.

His fall with the score on 175 brought Alastair Cook to the crease and the Essex man looked in good touch with 34 at almost a run a ball before a mistimed pull accounted for his wicket.

It was brilliant to get ourselves off to a good start like that and the more I bat with Straussy, the more I like it

Joe Denly

But there were to be no further blips as Paul Collingwood smashed 12 from seven balls to seal victory with 55 balls to spare.

"It was brilliant to get ourselves off to a good start like that and the more I bat with Straussy, the more I like it," Denly said afterwards.

The Kent opener's place may be under threat because of the imminent return to action of Kevin Pietersen, but he insisted the "right and left-hand combination" worked well at the top of the order.

"It is important to get some runs under your belt before the international games start and just have as much time out there as you can," Denly added.

"It was quite tricky to begin with because the pitch is a bit slow and they were bowling cutters which were hard to get away.

"It was really about getting used to the pace of the pitch. Once I did that I felt the more time I spent out there the easier it became for me to time the ball and in the end I was feeling very comfortable."

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.